History of Venice

According
to official historical accounts, one of the first important
events in the history of Venice was the election of the
first doge, a type of magistrate, by the Byzantines in 697.
His name was Paoluccio Anafesto. The domination of Byzantium
is much talked about but has little factual basis. However,
the city was already established in 811 when it moved to
Rivoalto, which is now called Rialto, from the islands
around Torcello and Malamocco. Agnello Partecipazio was the
doge at this time. The remains of St Mark were brought to
the city in 829, rescued by two keen fishermen.

The city had more or less taken on its current appearance by
the year 1000, when it was governed by Pietro Tribun. The
ordination of power took place in 1177, when Alessandro III
met with the Emperor Federico, to negotiate relations
between the papacy, the council and the empire. However, in
1204 the situation changed when, after providing ships and
equipment for the fourth crusade, Venice first received help
to re-conquer Zara. This unusual crusade started out to
conquer Jerusalem, but ended up sharing out the remains of
the Byzantine Empire; Venice won control of a huge part of
the spoils. Thanks to a commercial policy that also set up a
strict military stronghold, the territories became their
rightful property.

The state evolved with the decree of the Great Council in
1297. This act only permitted citizens to participate in the
Council if their ancestors had served on it. As a result the
number of nobles in power increased which guaranteed, in
theory, that they would continue to hold power even if a
rival faction took over. As a result, political struggles
were poisoned by many private feuds. According to Bartolo da
Sassoferrato, although it is true that the nobility were not
much respected by the people, they had more respect than in
other cities which were governed in the same way. The
population mostly accepted their government, and, as there
was such a large population, there were few internal
divisions. The majority were reasonably well off, which
meant that society was fairly stable.

According to
official historical accounts, one of the first important
events in the history of Venice was the election of the
first doge, a type of magistrate, by the Byzantines in 697.
His name was Paoluccio Anafesto. The domination of Byzantium
is much talked about but has little factual basis. However,
the city was already established in 811 when it moved to
Rivoalto, which is now called Rialto, from the islands
around Torcello and Malamocco. Agnello Partecipazio was the
doge at this time. The remains of St Mark were brought to
the city in 829, rescued by two keen fishermen.

The city had more or less taken on its current appearance by
the year 1000, when it was governed by Pietro Tribun. The
ordination of power took place in 1177, when Alessandro III
met with the Emperor Federico, to negotiate relations
between the papacy, the council and the empire. However, in
1204 the situation changed when, after providing ships and
equipment for the fourth crusade, Venice first received help
to re-conquer Zara. This unusual crusade started out to
conquer Jerusalem, but ended up sharing out the remains of
the Byzantine Empire; Venice won control of a huge part of
the spoils. Thanks to a commercial policy that also set up a
strict military stronghold, the territories became their
rightful property.

The state evolved with the decree of the Great Council in
1297. This act only permitted citizens to participate in the
Council if their ancestors had served on it. As a result the
number of nobles in power increased which guaranteed, in
theory, that they would continue to hold power even if a
rival faction took over. As a result, political struggles
were poisoned by many private feuds. According to Bartolo da
Sassoferrato, although it is true that the nobility were not
much respected by the people, they had more respect than in
other cities which were governed in the same way. The
population mostly accepted their government, and, as there
was such a large population, there were few internal
divisions. The majority were reasonably well off, which
meant that society was fairly stable.

Struggles with the Ligurian city of Genoa were a problem
until a century later, in 1380, after the war of Chioggia.
At this point it was no longer a military obstacle, and even
though they now had control of the eastern routes only
commercial rivalry remained.

Events that took place around the middle of the fifteenth
century would change the fate of the Mediterranean forever.
The expansion on the mainland, and the conquest of a great
part of Lombardy was the driving force in successive
alliances to overthrow an overwhelming power, the first of
which was the definitive fall of Constantinople to the
Turks. The trade routes, which were the basis of the Italian
states, became insecure, and mercantile trade started to
decline. The final straw was the discovery of the American
continent. The Mediterranean was on the brink of becoming a
kind of lake under the threat of the Ottoman Empire. For
many, it was the beginning of the end.

Although Venice had a somewhat overrated victory at Lepanto,
Cyprus fell and the loss of Crete in 1669 was the ultimate
insult. Thirty years later, Venice regained possession of
Morea for a period of twenty years. The Turkish wars ended
in 1718 with the overwhelming victory of the Turks. Venice
then enjoyed its last century of freedom under the rule of
the nobility; in 1797, Napoleon handed it to Austria, after
feigned negotiations. In 1805 he returned to Venice and
completed the domination of the city. The industrial
structures were knocked down and the city became a shadow of
its former self. In 1848-9, it was invaded again by the
Hapsburgs, and in 1866, it was united with the Kingdom of
Italy.